


Because He's the Hero I Deserve

by SHINylightblue (ShinySeaWave)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, M/M, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:52:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,654
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5381075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinySeaWave/pseuds/SHINylightblue
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sehun knew he should have never gotten emotionally involved with the other man who didn't know his identity nor knew Sehun of the other's identity.</p>
<p>(Contains: Blood mentions, mentions of drowning, alcohol consumption, mentions of driving under the influence of alcohol (Do NOT (!!!) ever drive under the influence of alcohol. You’re endangering yourself and others if you do that!! I’m not happy that I wrote it into the story but I wanted to show something with it. Hope that’s kinda clear despite me using something I probably shouldn’t use in any way.), slight mention of homophobia)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Because He's the Hero I Deserve

Since that one day a month ago Oh Sehun's life had changed a lot – again. And it wasn't a great feeling. It was more of a deep and hurting feeling. Something he had never expected to feel. He has always tried to be not too emotionally involved with anyone. Being too emotionally involved with any person just made you weak. That's what his father had taught him when Sehun had asked why his father hadn't helped his mother and why she hadn't asked for help.  
  
With a sigh Sehun adjusted the glasses on his nose and looked at the papers in front of him. Sometimes it felt as if the numbers on it tried to mock him. He could sense them laughing at him, dancing in front of his eyes, pointing their fingers at him – just for feeling things his father had always warned him of.  
  
“And with that I conclude my presentation,” Sehun's co-worker suddenly said, interrupting his thoughts. “If there are any questions left please ask,” the man said and looked at the group of men and women sitting at the table.  
  
“I have one,” a woman in a grey costume asked, tapping with her long, red nails onto the surface of the glass table. It was a somewhat obtrusive sound which didn't help with the slight headache Sehun had already been dealing with for days.  
“Yes?” the man at the front said and looked expectantly at her.  
  
“I'm not sure if I understood this correctly. Your plan is to invent and sale security systems which will be able to stop all those.. 'super villains' which seem to be roaming the city nowadays. But most of them are professional criminals anyway and would be able to avoid those security systems anyway. Or even if not.. those who are the usual criminals without any abilities beyond the usual human abilities will probably also be able to get through at any point. At least judging from your plans. It looks as if you want to work on one of the older security systems which we sell which doesn't have the best ratings and which people don't trust,” she said. Her nails were still tapping onto the table.  
  
“I mean,” she continued, “It would be rather counterproductive, wouldn't it? Only being able to fend off 'super villains' and not the usual criminal without any superpowers?” An almost bald man in his fifties started to laugh a bit.  
  
“Mrs. Kim, I always thought picking you for the board of directors would be a good choice because you have been doing a great job at your former company but you don't seem to understand. This makes me think having you work for us was the wrong decision. Your colleague's idea is great. We have someone working on the security system so it will be able to work against super villains and we can sell it at a higher price which will cover the expenses and we can make a good amount of profit with it as well. And later on when someone realizes that people will be able to get through it we'll just sell them an update for it.”  
  
The man – their boss to be exact – smiled slightly threatening at her and said: “Profit. Mrs. Kim. Money makes the world go around.”  
  
“I personally think honesty helps you. There is a reason why I did such a great job at my former company, Mr. Park. They valued quality right from the start.” She smiled back in a similar way at their boss before she turned to look at everyone at the table.  
  
“I don't know about you but this company hasn't made the profit it did some years ago. I've been looking around for information and people have no trust in our products anymore. If we don't work on the image of our company we'll lose more money than we ever made and that's not what you want. I know enough companies who sell products of better quality and who are starting to make almost as much profit as we do now even though they haven't been in the business for a long time. Think about this!”  
  
And with those words she stood up and left the room. “If anyone has questions see me in my office,” she said before closing the door behind her.

  
***

  
  
Sehun's headache hadn't gotten better since that meeting and he excused himself earlier than usual from work to go home. Maybe he could finally finish that new TV series he had started a month ago. He was just thinking if he should get popcorn or ice cream when his eyes fell on the display of a kiosk, or more specifically on the headline of one of the most famous tabloids sold.  
  
 _Hidden in the Shadow. Not the right Air for superheroes anymore?_  
  
Sehun almost snorted at the absolutely bad headline. Not to mention the bad photographs of the city's most famous superheroes Shadow Fist and Airborne. Names people in the city had given them.  
  
With another sigh and a hurtful feeling in his chest Sehun looked away from the display and continued his way home with a stop at the next convenience store to get some chocolate ice cream.  
  
Finally home and dressed up in comfortable sweats and a wide t-shirt he sat on his couch to watch the DVD of the TV series he was into at that point. Shovelling ice cream into himself while watching it was exactly what he needed in that moment. No people talking about super villains and superheroes.  
  
He was four episodes into it when suddenly someone rang his doorbell. Sehun groaned, paused the DVD and went to his door.  
  
“Hey!” his best friend greeted him happily before walking into Sehun's apartment without even asking. It was a usual thing to do for him.  
  
“What do you want, Jongin? I was just trying to drown myself in ice cream,” Sehun muttered as he closed his door and went after Jongin who was already sitting down on the couch.  
  
“I see that,” Jongin sighed and turned towards Sehun. “Are you still hung up on him?” Now he looked more worried again than anything else.  
  
Sighing Sehun sat down next to Jongin and nodded before leaning his head against Jongin's shoulder. The other put his arm around Sehun and started to gently rub his arm to comfort him. “I know it won't help but be glad that you guys didn't actually expose yourself to each other yet or else it would probably be worse,” Jongin said making Sehun sigh again.  
  
“Maybe,” he said, “But at least then I would have known who he actually is. Not even knowing who he is.. was in his private life hurts a lot. I wanted to know him better but this stupid mission with the iceberg made it impossible.” And with that Sehun started to cry again.  
  
“I know,” Jongin said gently and turned his upper body a bit to hug Sehun.  
  
“It sucks, Jongin! Why am I feeling like this?”  
  
“Because you're human in the end even with your abilities.”  
  
“Fuck my abilities!”  
  
Jongin had to grin a bit. This sounded exactly like his best friend. He had always had some problems with his heritage and abilities.  
  
“My father warned me to never get too emotionally involved with someone,” Sehun sobbed into Jongin's shoulder.  
“And what happened to him? He became a bitter, old man who decided that his career as a superhero was over and being a super villain was exactly what he needed. You guys haven't talked ever since. He was emotionally involved with your mother, more than he wanted to admit and you know that,” Jongin said as he gently stroked Sehun's back. “And you know that you shouldn't make this about what your father said. You need to get out there again and do the best you can do to help that this won't happen to anyone again. You aren't the only superhero who loves people,” Jongin continued.

  
***

  
  
Tired Sehun fell into his bed. It had been a long day at his job and since his conversation with Jongin he had finally been able to do his duty again. It kind of helped to not think about what happened. Only problem was what he had read earlier that day on the page of a tabloid. Looked like they wanted it to look like they had some kind of territory fight which was why Shadow Fist wasn't there anymore.  
  
“Don't think about him,” Sehun told himself over and over like a mantra as he tried to fall asleep. But it wasn't easy. Once thought about the other man whose actual identity he didn't even know and all he could think about was that one night when they suddenly had kissed as they stood on top of a building, watching the police and firefighters taking care of the villains they had just fought and trying to help the civilians involved.  
  
It had been quite the passionate but tender moment. They had looked at each other after talking about how they had just defeated their enemies and just like that the other had suddenly asked if he could kiss Sehun.  
  
He had already been very caring and sweet towards him before on their missions together. Ever since they first started to work in the same city they had been almost inseparable as a crime fighting team.  
  
The kiss was first tender, then passionate. Sehun could still remember the feeling of the other's lips on his. Slightly chapped but soft on his own. He had always liked looking at the other's mouth. It curled a bit when he spoke which was the cutest thing Sehun had ever seen.  
  
It was very unfortunate that they had had to break their kiss because there had been people on their way to the rooftop they had been standing on.  
  
The second and last time they had kissed had been shortly before Shadow Fist had fallen into the sea to never be seen again.  
  
Thinking about this Sehun fell into a fitful sleep.  
  
  
  
When he woke up again the sun was already shining brightly and he felt another headache coming on. One look to his right to his alarm clock and he saw that it was already ten in the morning. Groaning he turned on his back again and rubbed his eyes. The next thing he heard was a shuffling outside on the stairs. Two people, boxes. Sehun furrowed his eyebrows. But then he remembered that the apartment next to his had been empty for a while and he turned on his stomach again.  
  
It was then that his powers apparently decided to be against him. He still could hear his new neighbours dragging things across the floor outside. Sehun contemplated yelling at them but average human beings would probably freak out about the fact that he could hear them even in his bedroom.  
  
Sighing he lifted himself up and went into his kitchen. He needed a coffee. While his coffee machine was running he went to take a short shower. When he went back into the kitchen afterwards, he was only wearing a towel. His coffee was ready and he poured himself a cup. Then he went over to his coffee table to grab the remote control for his flatscreen TV. Zapping through the programs he realized nothing interesting was showing. So he turned on a DVD again.  
  
Suddenly his doorbell rang. Sehun put his cup on his coffee table and went to open the door to see who wanted to disturb his lazy morning. Probably Jongin.  
  
What he didn't expect when he opened the door was a handsome young man around his age with blond dyed hair and a bunch of piercings in his ears to look at him out of almost cat-like eyes. He almost didn't realize that the other man had a cut on his left eyebrow and his left arm in bandages.  
  
“Y-yeah?” Sehun asked, trying to calm himself down a bit. The guy was really handsome. Probably straight though. He never had any luck with handsome guys like that.  
  
The stranger seemed to be distracted for a second and Sehun realized he had been staring at Sehun's chest. “Um..,” the stranger started, “I just wanted to say 'hello'. I'm your new neighbour. Huang Zitao.” He hold up his hand and Sehun took it. That voice sounded exactly like  _his_.  
  
“Sorry for this,” Sehun said as he finally realized that he still was only wearing a towel. “Oh Sehun,” he then introduced himself and smiled a bit at the stranger whose whole face seemed to lit up.  
  
“Nice to meet you,” Zitao said, “And no problem. You've got a great body.” He grinned a bit but Sehun could see a slight blush creeping onto Zitao's cheeks. Though his own blush was probably even stronger.  
  
“Thank you,” Sehun replied shyly.  
  
“Tao, where should I put your guitar?” someone suddenly said and a second person appeared in the door to Zitao's apartment. He was a bit shorter than both Sehun and Zitao and smiled friendly at Sehun. Though Sehun could recognize a slightly irritated look in his eyes as he saw that Sehun was still only wearing a towel. “Hi, I'm Junmyeon,” the guy introduced himself and Sehun nodded.  
  
“Oh Sehun,” he said.  
  
Then Zitao suddenly cleared his throat again. “I think you should get dressed before you get sick,” he told Sehun. Did his lips curl while speaking or was Sehun just seeing things? He tried to calm himself down and nodded slowly.  
  
“Yeah, I should. Nice to meet you,” he said, “If you need anything, just ring, okay?” Zitao nodded.  
  
“Thank you!” Then he turned around to follow his friend into his apartment while waving shortly for Sehun.  
  
With Zitao turning around Sehun managed to catch a sniff of Zitao. This scent! Sehun was confused. It couldn't be. Slowly he turned around and closed his door behind him. He had to call Jongin. Maybe he could tell him if he was just imagining things.  
  
As soon as he had closed the door he ran to get his cellphone and dialled Jongin's number. “Jongin!” Sehun yelled as soon as the other greeted him from the other side.  
  
“What's wrong?” Jongin asked and Sehun could clearly imagine the facial expression which Jongin probably sported before his inner eye. “I.. this might sound strange but.. I got a new neighbour – who is very hot by the way. Dyed hair, piercings, plays guitar. I hope he's a musician. That would be even hotter,” Sehun started to blabber which made Jongin laugh.  
  
“Calm down, Sehun. I don't think that's everything you wanna tell me. Just wait a second. I'll be there so we don't have to talk over the phone,” Jongin said laughing and ended the call. Only seconds later he appeared in Sehun's living room.  
  
“So, and now tell me what happened,” Jongin said as he sat down, “But maybe you should get dressed before that.” He looked Sehun up and down, making the other blush. “Oh, yeah, sorry. Give me a second,” Sehun said and rushed into his bedroom to throw on a tank top, briefs and skinny jeans.  
  
When he came back into the living room he sat down right next to Jongin. He took one of the pillows and played with it as he started to explain to his best friend what was going on.  
“My neighbour.. he.. I know this sounds weird but.. he has  _his_  lips, and voice, and scent. It took me so much by surprise and I don't know if I'm just imagining it or not,” Sehun whined and let himself fall to the side onto his couch.  
  
He groaned and put the pillow over his head. Jongin gently patted his leg. “Maybe you're overworked and imagining things,” he suggested but Sehun could hear that Jongin wasn't too sure about what he said.  
  
“Maybe,” Sehun sighed though before he sat up again. “Can't you check? You have seen him once. Maybe you'll see if I'm imagining things or not,” Sehun suddenly asked.  
  
“Why? You know how I am with strangers. This is absolutely awkward. No!” Jongin said, a blush appearing on his face.  
  
“Please?” Sehun pouted and looked at Jongin with pleading eyes.  
  
“No!” Jongin replied.  
  
“I give you a pay rise.”  
  
“You don't even pay me!”  
  
“See? Now you'll get paid.”  
  
“Sehun, you are an idiot. Why am I even helping you?”  
  
“Because you love me.”  
  
Jongin groaned. “Unfortunately,” he mumbled as Sehun started to hit him with the pillow in his hands. “I won't do it,” Jongin said in between hits, “How about you try to get to know him. You'll realize it sooner or later if he's who you're looking for. Would surprise me if it's him but you never know.” Again Sehun groaned in frustration and let himself fall down on his couch.  
  
“You know how bad I'm at that!”  
  
“Not my problem,” Jongin said with a shrug, making Sehun sigh again. “But.. if it was him wouldn't Shadow Fist roam the city again?”  
  
“He's injured. Could be him.”

  
***

  
  
Sehun had always been bad at getting to know people. Jongin he knew because their parents had been friends when they were teenagers. The only reason he had started to work together with Shadow Fist was because the other had tried to make it possible. Sehun didn't know how to properly approach people since his father had taught him to not get too emotionally involved with people.  
  
Hence, the most contact he managed to have with Zitao was when they saw each other in the hallway. And apparently Zitao enjoyed getting downstairs to the post boxes without wearing any type of top. Sehun couldn't count the times anymore he had to take a second shower after fetching his post.  
  
“He's so hot! I don't know what to do,” Sehun had whined more than once to his best friend who eventually told him in return that he was considering getting a new number so Sehun wouldn't be able to call him anymore.  
  
“They should call you 'Airhead' and not 'Airborne',” Jongin had said once after Sehun had told him how he had managed to walk right into his door and fall up the stairs because of Zitao.  
  
It was only two weeks after Zitao had moved into the apartment next to Sehun's that Sehun was trying to tell himself that the other probably wasn't interested at all. If he was he probably would have done something already beside talking about the weather every time they saw each other.  
  
But one day Zitao actually managed to say more than usual. Sehun had just stopped in front if his door and tried to find his keys after a long day at work when Zitao stepped outside his own door. He was wearing black sweats, a black tank top, and had headphones around his neck. “Oh!” he said as he saw Sehun.  
  
“Hi! Long day at work?” he asked and the other nodded.  
  
“Going for a run,” Zitao said, biting his bottom lip. Again, Sehun nodded.  
  
He was just about to open his door when Zitao suddenly said: “I know this might not be right and I'm very sorry if I offend you with this but.. would you like to go out with me?”  
  
Sehun turned his head fast towards Zitao and looked at him with big eyes. “M-me?” he croaked and pointed at himself.  
  
“Sorry, I shouldn't have asked,” Zitao replied with a blush on his face. “Oh, my god! No! I mean.. it's.. yes,” Sehun stammered, trying to suppress a big smile which wanted to creep onto his face.  
  
“What?” Zitao asked and blinked at Sehun in such a cute way that Sehun squealed slightly. He immediately threw his hands over his mouth.  
  
He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down so he could reply: “I would love to go out with you.” He smiled shyly at the other who in that moment started to sport a very wide smile on his face, and suddenly Zitao's arms were around Sehun and it just felt so much like when  _he_  hugged him for the first time. A similar frame, same not too broad and not too small shoulders, same strength with which he held him close, and that scent!  
  
Slowly Sehun laid his arms around Zitao. Even putting his hands on the other's back felt the same. Minus the superhero costume. It made Sehun feel safe being in the other male's arms like this. It felt so familiar.  
  
Though he could feel Zitao stiffening slightly for a second which made Sehun nervous. Was him returning the hug a bad idea?

  
***

  
  
Mrs. Kim apparently had a rough day judging from the way she stormed into Sehun's office and threw some files on his desk. “I can assume you're the only sane person in this company, Mr. Oh?” she said and sat down on a chair in front of his desk. “Depends on how you define 'sane',” he said as he tried to get rid of the paper on which he had written 'Huang Zitao' with a lot of hearts around it.  
  
She lifted one eyebrow while crossing her legs and arms and looked at him in a judging manner. “I assume you don't belong to those people who only ever think about getting money for themselves. I assume you have a strong sense of justice but are too afraid to show it when on your own,” she explained. Sehun furrowed his brows at her.  
  
“How did you come to that conclusion?” he asked.  
  
“You don't say much during meetings but when I observed you during presentations of others it was always very obvious what you were thinking. Your facial expressions are very telling,” she replied and pointed at the files.  
  
“These are documents which no one of us should see actually but I managed to copy them secretly,” she said, “I heard how Mr. Park discussed them with some other board members.” Curiously Sehun opened the first file, knowing he could risk his job doing so.  
  
One look at the papers and he felt a shudder running through his body, and it was definitely not one of pleasure and happiness. “They don't! They can't!” he whispered as he continued looking at the papers in shock.  
“I thought you'd like to see this,” Mrs. Kim said and leant forward to have a better look at the papers.  
  
“Why would they?” Sehun asked and looked through the rest of the pages to find out if there was an answer to his question.  
  
Mrs. Kim sighed. “I'm not sure. My first thought was that Mr. Park and others are allies to some of the super villains but there doesn't seem to be a plan to _not_  keep them away. Since the abilities of the super villains and superheroes most likely have the same origins the surveillance system network which would connect the whole city could find them all so they could all be eliminated. There is no way of separating both groups apparently.”  
  
Sehun started massaging his forehead. He didn't exactly have the time to think about this. Or maybe he had. It at least kept his panic about his date with Zitao down. But now another type of panic rose in him and it was definitely one he had always feared to feel.  
  
“Why would they do that though if it doesn't benefit anyone?” he asked. “Unless it's 'just' a huge hate against people being different from them,” he added and looked at Mrs. Kim who nodded.  
  
“I also thought if it would benefit them to only have the usual criminals in the city again because without supervillains and superheroes they would be free to do what they want which would mean the security systems would sell better again. Even those which aren't of the newest standards anymore. But I'm not too sure if Mr. Park has the intelligence to think of this,” she said and Sehun laughed a bit at her last sentence.  
  
“Either way, he and the others need to be stopped,” Sehun said to which Mrs. Kim nodded again.  
  
“Which is why I came to you,” she said and something told Sehun that she knew. That she knew who he was. It was a slight, flickering feeling in the air which told him. “I know you and.. your friend.. you can help,” she whispered and looked behind her, probably in case someone came inside.  
  
Nervously Sehun licked his lips. “My 'friend' isn't here anymore,” he said and looked down, trying to hide the sadness which most likely was very obvious to see on his face. “Oh, I'm sorry,” Mrs. Kim said, “I didn't know that. Were you close?”  
  
Sehun hesitated for a moment before he replied: “Kind of?” She only nodded. She probably recognized it was a difficult issue to talk about for Sehun.  
  
“How do you know?” he asked, still a bit nervous because she so easily talked about his identity with him.  
  
“I can tell. It's my ability which I try to keep a secret as much as possible because I made the experience that the wrong people would try to use it for their advantage,” she explained.  
  
Sehun nodded but he still didn't feel too comfortable. Never trust people who too easily talk about themselves like that.  
  
“I worked for your father once before he went crazy,” Mrs. Kim said which made Sehun look up at her face again. For his father? He looked a bit more at her. Those triangular glasses, red nails. They did seem familiar but not in a way he thought of as important.  
  
“'The Red Reader'?” he asked, surprise washing over his face. She nodded. “That was my codename back then. I haven't used it in ages to be honest,” Mrs. Kim laughed softly, “You grew up quite handsomely and talented.”

  
***

  
  
“Why am I here again?” Jongin asked as Sehun threw around some of his clothes, one of his shirts hitting Jongin right in the face.  
  
“You are supposed to help me decide on an outfit for my date,” Sehun said, held up a pink t-shirt, scrunched up his nose, and threw it behind himself. Jongin leant to the side to avoid getting the t-shirt into his face.  
  
“Why me?”  
  
“Because you are the only person I trust telling me the truth if I look like a fool or not.”  
  
“Ah, yeah. That's true.”  
  
Sehun sighed as he threw another t-shirt behind him. “And you should see him,” he whined, “He always looks so good and fashionable. He probably could wear a potato bag and still look like he was wearing.. I don't know.. Versace?” With a frustrated sigh Sehun ruffled his hair and continued looking at his clothes.  
  
“When do you guys wanna leave? And did he say what he has planned?” Jongin asked as he moved over to take a look at Sehun's wardrobe himself. Sehun shook his head.  
  
“He only said I shouldn't get dressed too fancy,” he replied with another sigh.  
  
“So definitely no suit. I guess he won't take you out for dinner. But from what you told me he's probably a broke wannabe musician anyway,” Jongin said as he pulled out a white t-shirt from the wardrobe.  
  
“Musicians at least know how to use their fingers,” Sehun replied with a grin, making Jongin blush.  
  
“Do you have to remind me of that?” Jongin whined.  
  
“I will remind you of your failure forever. She never talked to you again afterwards, right?” Sehun laughed which made Jongin throw the t-shirt he had in his hand against Sehun's face.  
  
“Here,” he said, “together with those blue skinny jeans which show of your ankles and make your butt look big so you can assure him right from the start that you are a willing bottom.” And with that Jongin turned around with a pout.  
  
“I can top as well, idiot,” Sehun yelled at his best friend but turned his attention back to his wardrobe to find the pants Jongin had been talking about.  
  
Getting into them proved to be quite the challenge since they were rather tight. “Do you really think this is a great idea?” Sehun asked as he jumped to get into his skinny jeans.  
  
“Definitely!” Jongin said and checked his phone. “I mean, how many guys have wanted to touch your ass every time you went out? Remember how they always love to hold you close by your ass during slow dances? And girls are jealous of your butt as well.”  
  
Sehun scrunched his face up a bit but nodded. “True,” he said, closed his belt, and put on the t-shirt Jongin had picked out.  
  
“Put the front into your pants,” Jongin ordered and Sehun followed.  
  
“I just think that.. he's so fashionable and I'm.. this,” Sehun said and gestured towards his reflection in the full body mirror on the inside of his wardrobe's door.  
  
“In what type of clothes has he seen you so far?”  
  
“Suits, sweats and t-shirt?”  
  
Jongin laughed. “I guess if he has already seen you in both those type of outfits he'll be very delighted about what you're wearing now,” he said.  
  
“Let's hope so.”  
  
Then the doorbell rang.  
  
“That's him!” Sehun squealed and he felt even more nervous again. “What if something happens? What if I'm needed somewhere?”  
  
He looked at Jongin who only rolled with his eyes. “Today is your free day. Enjoy it! There are enough others who can do that,” he said. “Get finished! I'll open the door,” Jongin said.  
  
Sehun groaned in frustration again as Jongin went over to the door. As fast as Sehun could he tried to get everything he needed together and styled his hair. While doing so he eavesdropped on his best friend and Zitao talking.  
  
“So, you're Zitao?”  
  
“Yes. And you..”  
  
“Jongin. I'm Sehun's best friend. He'll be ready in a second.”  
  
“Okay.”  
  
“Treat him well, okay? He might not always seem like it but he's a very emotional person.”  
  
“I will. Don't worry. He's.. he is just very sweet and cute.”  
  
Hearing that made Sehun blush. He should really learn how to stop that. No superhero should afford to showcase this kind of weakness. But that was what his father had taught him and his father hadn't been the best at advices which Sehun had learned over the years.  
  
Taking a deep breath he looked at himself again in the mirror. He nodded to himself, then he went outside to get to the door.  
  
“He can be anything but cute sometimes though,” Jongin giggled as Sehun appeared next to them. “If you mean when I beat your ass in video games?” Sehun commented in what he hoped to be a confident tone.  
  
“For example,” Jongin replied. “Have fun you two! I hope he  _blows you away_  with his charms, Zitao.” Jongin laughed a bit before pushing his best friend outside and closed the door behind him.  
  
Then Sehun stood there in front of his door together with Zitao and both blinked at each other for a second before Zitao said: “Wanna go?” He smiled softly at the other who could only nod and followed Zitao down the stairs.  
“Um.. is it normal that Jongin stays at your place just like that?” Zitao suddenly asked.  
“Sometimes,” Sehun answered, “I have a spare key and he knows where it is. He'll probably raid my fridge and watch movies on my flatscreen TV since he doesn't have one himself.” He rolled his eyes and glanced at Tao who giggled a bit.  
  
“How long have you two been friends?” he asked, a gentle smile playing around the corners of his mouth.  
  
“Since forever basically. Our parents have been friends back when we were children so it was kinda inevitable that we would become friends,” Sehun replied.  
  
“So you have been friends for a really long time,” Zitao said thoughtfully, “Does that mean I have to make him like me so I can date you?”  
  
Zitao's words made Sehun blush again. “I think he's already glad that I’m finally going on a date again?” Sehun replied. “So don't worry. He'll like you anyway.”  
  
  
  
They took Zitao's car to get to a place somewhere outside the city on a mountain. Zitao's car had seen better days but he had explained on their way that he just loved it and would always try to keep it running well.  
  
They soon arrived at a parking lot close to their destination. When Sehun wanted to get out of the car Zitao stopped him. He got out himself and walked to Sehun's side to open the door on his side.  
  
“Thanks?” Sehun mumbled as he got out of the car. Zitao softly smiled at him.  
“Let me just get something from the trunk,” he said while closing the door.  
  
What he produced from the trunk was a modern picnic basket in blue and silver which looked like Zitao had put too much into it. He also took something made from fabric out of the trunk which when Sehun took a closer look turned out to be a jacket. Then Zitao closed his car completely and stepped closer to Sehun again.  
  
“Let's go?” Zitao asked and Sehun nodded. Zitao led the way up a small path but he always looked back at Sehun, always a soft smile on his face.  
  
“Where are we going?” Sehun asked after some time.  
  
“You'll see,” Zitao replied as he gently touched Sehun's arm to help him over a fallen tree. “It's a place I like a lot and where I usually go when I want to be alone.”  
  
“So.. can I assume you show me something very personal and a place not many people know?” Sehun asked carefully and Zitao nodded.  
  
“It is,” Zitao said and looked ahead to pull some twigs from a tree aside so they wouldn't hit Sehun. “I just felt that.. that you are the right person to share this with,” he added. Again Sehun felt like he was blushing. Zitao was too nice and sweet to him even though he didn't know anything about him.  
  
“Why?” Sehun asked. “I mean.. you don't know anything about me besides that I live right next to you, that I wear suits for my job, that my best friend is Jongin – which by the way you only got to know today – and that I'm a complete klutz.”  
  
Zitao laughed softly at Sehun's outburst. “But I felt comfortable around you almost immediately and that's enough for me,” he said, “And we can get to know each other better tonight. Oh, and just so you know, I'm probably more of a klutz than you. I do martial arts and sometimes I accidentally hurt myself, I fell from the stage while performing music more than once, and don't let me start on how I injured my arm and face.”  
  
Now it was Sehun's turn to laugh as they went through the thicket. “You fell from the stage while performing? So you  _are_  a musician?” he asked.  
  
“Yes. Or, kind of. I just do some singer-songwriter stuff at some clubs. I want to do more though but I haven't had the chance yet,” Zitao replied.  
  
Then they arrived at a clearing which looked right into the valley. “Wow,” Sehun whispered as he saw the lights of the city. It was a beautiful sight and he couldn't keep himself from walking over to the edge to enjoy the view even more. “This is beautiful,” he said and turned around again to Zitao who had put the basket down and already had a blanket in his hands.  
  
“Isn't it?” he said smiling and tried to lie the blanket down on the ground.  
  
“Let me help you,” Sehun said and rushed over to take the corners and straighten out the blanket.  
  
“Thank you.”  
  
“Not a problem. Working together can sometimes be very helpful,” Sehun said smiling.  
  
“True,” Zitao mumbled, looking down for a second. He looked like he was in thought. Then he turned to the basket to pull out the food he had brought.  
  
“Sit down,” Zitao said in a gentle tone and Sehun did as told. He observed how Zitao was taking out one small box after another.  
“Shall I help you?” he asked but Zitao shook his head.  
  
“You just enjoy this, okay?” he laughed as he pulled out a bottle from the basket. “I hope you like red wine?”  
  
“How sophisticated,” Sehun giggled but nodded and Zitao took out two cups from the basket.  
  
“Only the best,” Zitao replied with a laugh.  
  
He poured both of them and held his cup up afterwards. “To a great evening,” he said and smiled at Sehun who didn't know how he could deserve someone like Zitao smiling that softly at him like that. The other man had such a sweet smile. But it also reminded him of  _him_.  
  
“To a great evening,” Sehun said, hoping that his smile didn't look too pressed all of a sudden.  
  
“Don't you have to drive later?” Sehun asked.  
  
“One cup won't hurt,” Zitao replied with a cheeky smile.  
  
“So, what is your job exactly?” Zitao asked as they started eating.  
  
“I work at a company which invents security systems. I actually belong to the board,” Sehun replied and glanced at Zitao who stared at him as if he was in shock.  
  
“How old are you?” he asked.  
  
“Twenty-five? I know, I'm young. Especially for that position but I have a great education and the company once belonged to my uncle before he unfortunately passed a year ago. He gave me the job,” Sehun answered and put a strawberry in his mouth. “Wow, those are good,” he mumbled around the strawberry which made Zitao laugh a bit.  
  
Blushing and pouting Sehun looked at him. “What?”  
  
“You're just very cute,” Zitao said.  
  
“Thank you,” Sehun whispered, “You too.” He cleared his throat before asking: “And what do  _you_  do exactly?”  
  
Zitao sighed. “Working at a convenience store on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. And the other days I'm working at a clothing store. Trying to finance my own education. At least I hope I can go back to college at some point.”  
  
Curiously Sehun leaned a bit towards him. “Did you go before?” he asked.  
“Yes, but I thought I'd be able to make it as a musician when I came here. Never managed to though. I was young and naïve. It's way more difficult to reach that goal. So I decided to go back to college to study music but I don't want to rely on my parents' money. The only thing they pay for is my apartment because they wanted to make me a gift,” Zitao explained.  
  
“And you are how old now?”  
  
“Twenty-six. It might be a bit late but I need to try. I just had to stop working for a while due to my injuries. I just hope I have enough money saved soon.”  
  
“I think it's really amazing how you try to achieve that. I.. I never had much to work to get where I am now. My family had a lot of money and.. when my father left some time after my mom died my uncle and aunt took me in.”  
  
Zitao looked at Sehun. Pity was written all over his face which made Sehun sigh. “Please don't. It's okay, really. I should be used by now to losing the people I love the most,” Sehun said, getting more silent towards the end.  
  
“You shouldn't get used to something like that,” Zitao commented, “It will only hurt you to 'get used to it'.”  
  
“Maybe. But it can also numb you enough to never think about it again. And to be honest, I don't wanna think about my father at all. He was an ass and is still one.”  
  
Sehun lifted up his cup and drank the rest of his wine in one go. Apparently Zitao realized that they should change the subject because he started to ask questions about Sehun's favorite colors, hobbies and more. It was a great distraction for Sehun, especially as Zitao started to talk about his fashion experiments when he was a teenager which at first had been rather catastrophic and the descriptions of that made Sehun laugh a lot.  
  
In general Zitao had the ability to make Sehun laugh more than he probably had done in a long time. And despite certain qualities reminding Sehun of Shadow Fist he didn't think about him anymore the whole evening. Instead Sehun started to take in all of Zitao's features, facial expressions and mannerisms he could see. It was kind of cute in Sehun's eyes how Zitao talked with his hands most of the time and how his face completely lit up whenever he talked about his passion for music.  
  
After they had eaten and put everything beside the blanket back into the basket they laid down next to each other to look at the stars. It had been Zitao's suggestion.  
  
“Do you like the stars?” Sehun asked as he scooted closer to feel a bit warmer since it had gotten colder.  
“Very much. I just find looking at the stars very fascinating. They look so beautiful. But they also can remind one of how time is quite the interesting concept. Because what we see of those stars are just the remnants of what they once had been. Because of the time it takes the light to travel before we see the light,” Zitao explained and he turned his head to look at Sehun.  
  
“True,” was all Sehun said as he tried not to look at Zitao's lips. He just wanted to kiss him. They laid so close together he could already feel the other's breath on his face. He would only need to lean in and press their lips together.  
  
But instead they just kept staring at each other. It felt strangely comfortable to Sehun, until suddenly the wind swept over them and made him shiver.  
  
“Are you cold?” Tao asked. He sounded worried.  
  
“A bit,” Sehun answered and Tao sat up to get the jacket he had brought with th  
em.  
“I already expected this to happen. Here,” he said and laid the jacket around Sehun who had just sat up as well.  
  
“Thank you. That's very sweet.”  
  
  
  
When they got back they stood in front of their doors for a while, still talking about random things. Mostly about pets though because Tao had started to talk about his dog which was living with his parents.  
  
“Thanks for this great evening,” Sehun said at one point, “I enjoyed it a lot.” He smiled softly at Zitao who lit up again and hugged Sehun.  
  
“Really not a problem. I'm just glad you enjoyed it a lot,” he whispered as he slowly stroked Sehun's back.  
  
Sehun whose nose was pressed right into the crook of Zitao's neck could smell the other's perfume and something which must be Zitao's own natural scent. It still reminded Sehun of Shadow Fist.  
  
“You smell good,” Sehun whispered, not being able to keep himself from saying it.  
  
“Thank you,” Zitao laughed, “You too.”  
  
Slowly they let go of each other, blushes appearing on both their faces. “So.. good night?” Sehun said and Zitao nodded. He looked as if he was thinking about something.  
  
“Everything okay?” Sehun asked him.  
  
“Yes, it's just.. I was really thinking about kissing you but I feel that it will destroy the moment. “Next time, if you'd let me take you out a second time,” Zitao replied and gently stroked Sehun's cheek.  
  
“I would love that,” Sehun whispered.

  
***

  
  
One punch to the guy's shoulder and a kick with his leg sending out a strong wave of wind and the guy crashed against the wall, finally fainting. Sehun – or Airborne in that moment – looked around. Ten unconscious men lying on the ground. It hadn't been a difficult job this time. All those men were only small-time criminals someone had hired to do their dirty work. They probably had thought they would get a lot of money out of this job but Sehun knew very well that the person hiring those people would usually get rid of them in the end.  
  
As fast as he could he tied the men together with a robe he found in the warehouse and tied them to a pillar. Then he turned around to inspect the boxes those men had been supposed to transport somewhere else. When Sehun opened the first box he found newspapers but right underneath he found plastic bags full with jewels.  
  
“You're doing a good job for someone that I suspected to stop completely,” someone suddenly said and Sehun turned around in the blink of an eye. There in the corner stood a man dressed completely in black evening attire with a top hat but also wearing a mask over his eyes.  
“What are you doing here?” Sehun hissed angrily.  
  
“Trying to see how you're doing. Can't a father be interested in his own son's life?”  
  
Sehun snorted. “Since when are you even in the slightest interested how I am? All you care about is your evil empire or whatever you wanna build,” he said, clenching his fists.  
  
“But you haven't tried to stop me in a while,” Sehun's father said as he started to move closer to Sehun, the click of his cane echoing through the warehouse. “Is it because I killed that boy of yours?”  
  
Laughing the man stopped and placed both his hands on top of his cane. “I told you to never get too emotionally involved with another person but you did. And on top of that it was another man. Aren't you the slightest bit ashamed of yourself? Our proud family dishonored by you liking another man,” Sehun's father exclaimed almost dramatically.  
  
He really made Sehun's blood boil. “Dishonoring our 'proud' family with that? You are misled,  _father_. The only one who dishonored this family was you by breaking a long tradition of being superheroes,” he said and swung his hand around to shoot a strong blow at his father. His father managed to dodge it and instead got closer to Sehun. Then he hit him with the end of his cane.  
  
Sehun felt slight pain in his forehead where the cane had hit him and he touched it as he flew backwards to get away from his father. When he looked at his glove he saw blood on it. Just a bit so the cut probably wasn't too bad.  
  
“A knife in your cane? Classy,” Sehun yelled.  
  
“To teach you a lesson, boy,” his father said who was all of a sudden right next to his ear. The man slapped something onto Sehun's chest and only a second later a small explosion made him fly against the next metal pillar.  
  
“You never listen, boy,” Sehun's father sighed before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.  
  
“Bastard,” Sehun muttered weakly as he lifted himself up. He wasn't made for too much physical combat. There was a reason why he had decided to work with Shadow Fist.

  
***

  
  
When Sehun was finally home again he felt even more wrecked than before. Not just in a physical sense but also an emotional one. Meeting his father again after what he had done to Shadow Fist had been even worse than expected. And something wasn't right.  
  
Sighing Sehun scuffed towards his bathroom to inspect the wound on his forehead. But suddenly his door bell rang. During a time like that it could only be Jongin.  
  
“Jongin, I told you. Never come again a-,” Sehun said as he opened the door but was stopped in mid-sentence by the view of his handsome neighbor standing in front of his door.  
“I-I'm sorry. Wrong time?” Zitao said before his facial expression suddenly turned worried.  
  
“Oh, my god! What happened?” he asked and took Sehun's head in his hands to inspect the wound on the other's forehead. “Um.. I walked into the kitchen cabinet?” Sehun lied but immediately regretted saying it. That was such a ridiculous lie. As if Zitao would believe that.  
  
Zitao looked into Sehun's eyes for a second before asking: “Did you disinfect it already?” Glad that Zitao didn't ask any further questions Sehun shook his head. “I wanted to look at it right now,” he replied.  
  
“Shall I help you?”  
  
“If you want,” Sehun shrugged and Zitao came into Sehun's apartment. “Antiseptic is in my bathroom.”  
  
Zitao took Sehun's hand and pulled him towards the bathroom. “Wash your wound a bit and sit down,” Zitao ordered very gently and Sehun took a washcloth, drained it in water and started cleaning the wound while Zitao looked for the antiseptic, cotton pads, and some plasters. While he did that Sehun sat down on the edge of his bathtub. Then Zitao sat down next to him and started to pat the antiseptic on the wound.  
  
“It burns,” Sehun whimpered when the cotton pad drained with antiseptic touched his forehead and he grabbed Zitao's side.  
  
“If it burns it works,” Zitao said with a soft, caring smile before he took a plaster and put it over the wound.  
  
Then he suddenly leant forward and pressed a kiss to it. “Better?” he asked and gently caressed Sehun's cheek.  
  
“Yes. Thank you,” Sehun replied and stared at Zitao. Should he tell the other? He felt like telling Zitao every little detail about himself and it made him afraid but also excited. But a normal human being would be very vulnerable knowing a secret like Sehun's.  
  
“Why did you ring at my door?” Sehun asked instead as he tried to ignore the goosebumps spreading out over his arm as Zitao gently stroked his hand and arm which was still clinging to his shirt.  
  
“Well, since we haven't seen each other in two weeks because of schedules and such I wanted to ask if you wanna have a DVD evening with me. I just really wanted to see you,” Zitao explained and looked down a bit with a blush on his face.  
  
“That sounds like a good idea,” Sehun replied and slowly let go of Zitao's shirt but he took the other's hand into his own. He really needed some distraction and maybe even some cuddles if Zitao let him.  
  
“Then I get some DVDs and such from my apartment and you sit yourself down in your living-room? Your couch looks way more comfortable than mine,” Zitao suggested laughing which made Sehun laugh as well.  
  
“Sounds like a good plan,” Sehun said, “And don't forget to put on your most comfortable sweats. I'm in for a DVD night in very comfortable clothes.” Zitao giggled and nodded.  
  
Only a few minutes later they both sat next to each other on Sehun's couch watching The Avengers and sharing a tub of chocolate ice cream. Sehun loved the irony of watching superhero movies while actually being one himself. At least in those movies things tended to go very well in the end.  
  
“It's a bit ironic to watch this since we have actual superheroes in our city,” Zitao suddenly said as Steve Rogers was punching the sandbag.  
  
“It is but don't you appreciate this irony?” Sehun asked which made Zitao giggle a bit.  
  
“I definitely do. And at least on those movies things seem to always be going well,” he replied.  
  
“Exactly,” Sehun exclaimed as he scooted over closer to Zitao who immediately laid his arm around him.  
  
To get even more comfortable Sehun laid his head on the other's shoulder. “Thanks for being here and keeping me company,” Sehun said.  
  
“It's really not a problem,” Zitao replied and pressed a kiss to Sehun's head. “You seemed a bit down earlier to be honest so it was probably quite fortunate that I had this idea, right?”  
  
“Very!”  
  
Gently Zitao caressed Sehun's arm as they continued watching. It just felt so comforting in that moment. Exactly what Sehun had needed. He scooted even closer to the other to feel his warmth more.  
  
“You can lie your head on my lap if you want,” Zitao suggested and Sehun did that.  
  
“Thank you,” he said as Zitao started to play with his hair.  
  
They continued to watch the movie in silence but Sehun couldn't stop thinking about telling Zitao and the touches of the other weren't exactly distracting enough to forget about that. He had to do something. Zitao would need to know and sooner or later he would find out anyway.  
  
Suddenly Tao pointed the remote control at the DVD player and paused the movie. Sehun lifted himself up and looked at the other with a questioning look on his face. “What's wrong?” he asked. Zitao sighed and ruffled his own hair. Biting his lips he looked around for a while.  
  
“You just seemed very tense,” he said and looked up at Sehun. But there was something else in the other's eyes.  
  
They both continued just staring at each other before Zitao spoke again: “Can I kiss you?”  
  
Immediately Sehun gasped and licked his lips nervously. He probably had fantasized about kissing the other way too often during the last two weeks ever since Zitao had talked about it. He really wanted to know what the other's lips felt like.  
“Yes,” Sehun whispered and nodded.  
  
A nervous smile appeared on Zitao's face and he gently took Sehun's face into his hands. He continued staring, his mouth slightly open and the expression in his eyes seeming as if he was searching for something.  
  
And the question had sounded exactly the same as back when Shadow Fist had asked him if he was allowed to kiss him.  
  
Gently Zitao stroked with his thumbs over Sehun's cheekbones before he slowly leaned in until their lips finally touched.  
  
Zitao's lips were slightly chapped but soft on Sehun's own. It felt exactly like back on that rooftop. Slowly they separated their lips from each other and stared into each other's eyes. It could only be the same person Sehun had kissed back then. His lips felt the same, looked the same, his scent was the same, hugging him felt the same. Those were too many coincidences. And the way Zitao looked at him, slightly confused but hopeful, seemed to answer his question.  
  
Slowly Sehun lifted his right hand to touch Zitao's cheek. He almost couldn't believe it and he felt a tear rolling down his own cheek. “I thought you were dead,” he whispered and Zitao wiped the tear from Sehun's cheek.  
  
“I'm so sorry,” Zitao whispered as well and now a tear rolled down his own face. “I didn't know how to contact you. I wanted you to know I'm okay.”  
  
Immediately Sehun leaned forward to hug the other. The position felt a bit awkward though and he swung his leg over Zitao's lap so he could hug him better. He pressed his nose into the crook of Zitao's neck and inhaled the other's scent. “Now I know,” he mumbled and Zitao tightened his arms around Sehun.  
  
“I missed you so much,” Zitao said, “All the time while I stayed at my parents' place after what happened.”  
  
Sehun leaned back a bit to look at Zitao. “How did you survive?” he asked as he took the other's face into his hands.  
  
“Made a sphere around me by stopping time which thankfully stayed when I fainted as I fell into the water. And when I woke up I had drifted to the shore down the coast. Junmyeon lived close to where I had ended up so I sneaked into his house and he helped me to get some of my stuff so that I could go to my parents'. We thought as long as I'm injured it would be better if I disappear for a while so that it would seem as if I'm actually dead before The Gentleman attacks me while I wasn't able to defend myself.”  
  
Sighing Sehun stroked Zitao's face. “I hope you understand,” Zitao said and Sehun nodded.  
  
“Very much. Especially after today,” he said. Zitao furrowed his brows in question.  
  
“What happened today?” he asked but then he seemed to realize what had happened. “Did he do that?” he asked and pointed at the wound on Sehun's forehead. The other nodded.  
  
“How did you escape?” Zitao asked, worry lacing his voice. Nervously Sehun bit down on his lips.  
  
“He.. he wanted to teach me a lesson. He could have easily killed me but he would never,” Sehun said and took a deep breath. “He's too sentimental even though he always claimed getting emotionally involved with anyone is the worst decision one could make. For him it was because he never wanted to admit it to himself that he actually loved someone a lot. So his suppressed anger and sadness turned him into what he is today.”  
  
Again Sehun took a deep breath as he played with his own fingers. “He did try to.. to kill you,” he whispered, “It was also to teach me a lesson and because he disliked it that I like another man.”  
  
Zitao gulped a bit and licked his lips. “Sehun, is he..”  
  
“My father,” Sehun replied with a nod. Gently Zitao pulled him back into a hug again.  
  
“He was a shitty father if that's how he always tried to teach you things,” he said, stroking Sehun's back in slow circular motions.  
  
“Yes. I realized that a bit too late and now I hear his lectures in my head all the time,” Sehun explained and sniffed a bit.  
  
“I'll help you fight those thoughts, okay? I'll really try my best,” Zitao said and pressed another kiss onto Sehun's head. “Guess sometimes it's really like they say. You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.”


End file.
